Issue 8, 2012

Rapidly thiol-responsive degradable block copolymer nanocarriers with facile bioconjugation

Abstract

Degradation of amphiphilic block copolymer (ABP) micelles in response to external stimuli (stimuli-responsive degradation) is a desired property in the design of controlled delivery vehicles. Here, a versatile methodology that combines facile carbodiimide coupling polycondensation with controlled radical polymerization to synthesize thiol-responsive degradable ABP micelles is described. These smart micelles consist of a hydrophobic degradable polyester block with disulfide linkages labeled repeatedly along the main chain; more importantly, in response to thiols they exhibit rapid and controlled degradation, thereby leading to enhanced release of encapsulated model drugs. Moreover, the proposed method allows for a facile bioconjugation of hydrophilic coronas using cell-targeting biomolecules during polymerization.

Graphical abstract: Rapidly thiol-responsive degradable block copolymer nanocarriers with facile bioconjugation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Mar 2012
Accepted
12 Apr 2012
First published
18 Apr 2012

Polym. Chem., 2012,3, 2138-2147

Rapidly thiol-responsive degradable block copolymer nanocarriers with facile bioconjugation

S. Aleksanian, B. Khorsand, R. Schmidt and J. K. Oh, Polym. Chem., 2012, 3, 2138 DOI: 10.1039/C2PY20154B

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